


Out With The Old, In With The New

by youmeatpizza



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Crush, Eventual Smut, F/M, Friendship, Jealous Keith Is Somewhere In There Too, Lotor Is Allura’s Ex, Love, Neighbors AU, Slow Burn-ish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2020-10-03 19:44:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20458448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youmeatpizza/pseuds/youmeatpizza
Summary: Keith has always had it calm. Until, the sound of hammering ruins one of his mornings. Solution? Obviously get his neighbor to shut up. But what happens when his neighbor turns out to be a dark-skinned beauty that leaves him speechless?





	1. Semi-Nude, Meddling Into Your Life

**Author's Note:**

> A Kallura Neighbors AU has always been in my mind but I just couldn’t bring myself to write it. But somehow, now (the most crucial time for me) is when my brain actually started to cooperate with my hands in building this fic. I actually have my exams very soon, but apparently I don’t know what priorities are. So. Please, enjoy!

_Bang. Bang. Bang. _

_Bang. _

_Bang. Bang. _

A Sunday morning couldn’t be more Hellish for Keith, as he waited patiently for the sounds of a hammer impacting a nail from the other side of his wall to stop immediately. _Fuck. It’s a fucking Sunday morning. _

_Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. _

“That’s it!” exclaimed the young man, getting out of his bed, ready to warn his neighbor.

As he walked out of his bedroom door, he was met with an active Kosmo, wiggling his tail, ready to be fed for the day.

“Sorry Kosmo, I’ll get back to you. I gotta go deal with the noise first. Hold on alright, Buddy?” Keith reassured as he ruffled the top of Kosmo’s head. "Goddamnit."

With his ever-so-infamous scowl, he was ready to give his neighbor a good lecture; on how it’s 8:08 in the morning and how majority of the residents in the building are probably still sleeping.

As he stepped out, a chilly breeze flowed through the apartment hallway, leaving goosebumps on his skin. _Fuck. It’s colder than usual today, too. _

He strode towards the front door of his neighbor. Feeling nervous for reasons unknown, the goosebumps on his skin grew more evident. Keith has always been bad at talking to people. Keith has always been bad at words. Keith has always been bad at reading the atmosphere. Keith has always been a lone-wolf. Was this really necessary? Maybe he should just leave it be? To his defense, the neighbor had recently moved in and was probably re-arranging and putting stuff in its place.

...

At 8 in the morning?! Nuh-uh. No. Furniture later, sleep first.

As the dilemma in his head stopped, he finally decided to ring his neighbor’s doorbell. _Fucking hammering. 8 in the morning. What a load of bull._

No reply.

Keith waited for a while and tried a second time. 

No reply.

_No way. Unbelievable. No fucking way was this happening._ Not only was his neighbor very selfish, but this was just downright rude.

Keith attempted his third ring, but as he put his finger to the bell, the door opened, and he was greeted by a dark-skinned beauty with long, white, luscious hair and the bluest of eyes.

_Ba-dump. _

“Hi there. Oh my!” started the young woman as she was greeted by a topless, and a very handsome man. She tried, (emphasis on the ‘tried’) to avert her gaze somewhere else, rather than the well-sculpted abs in front of her. Alas, her restless gesture was noticed by the man standing in front of her. Keith was dead set on yelling at his beautiful neighbor that he had totally forgot to put on a shirt. _Oh crap. _“Sorry about not answering the first ring. I heard it, but I wanted to wash my hands first. The walls here can get a little dirty. Hah,” the young woman said nervously as she tried looking in his eyes.

“It’s alright. I was just-“ he cut himself off as his eyes trailed along her apartment. It was messy. Like, Hella messy. “I was actually here to, um, to tell you that it’s 8 in the morning, and people, like me are actually still sleeping around this hour,” Keith finished. That took more out of him than he thought.

“Wait, 8?” the girl inquired, as she ran into her apartment to get her clock, and rushed back to the stranger by her front door. “My clock says 11:11.” _It must've got fucked up when moving in the cargo or somethin'._

“What about your phone?” Keith asked.

“I don’t have one,” she answered. In this day and age, how does one not have a phone? “I mean, I do. But, the battery died on me when I moved here from England. I’ve been so busy trying to arrange all my furniture, I didn’t have time to get a new one ever since.”

Well now Keith felt like a big dick. Not only was her house a total mess, she’s still living on a different timezone!

“Here. I’ll fix that for you,” Keith took the clock in her hands and adjusted it to the current time. “There. All good. Now you won’t have any excuses.” 

...

No way.

Was Keith flirting? The lone-wolf, spouting words out of his mouth in a cheeky, flirty manner?

“I suppose not,” said the girl, heat settling on the apples of her cheeks. “Thank you. I will not be doing any hammering early in the morning anymore. I promise.”

“Haha. It’s alright. I didn’t know half of the story anyways. It wouldn’t have been fair if I blamed it entirely on your side,” said Keith as he rested a palm at the back of his neck. “Well, it was nice meeting you Miss...”

“Allura. A pleasure to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you. The name’s Keith.”

He should be turning his heels and heading home now, but for the life of him, he just couldn’t seem to do so. His eyes lingered on her apartment home once again and couldn’t help but to feel bad for her.

“So, isn’t there anyone gonna help you?” Keith asked. “With the unpacking of your furniture, I mean.”

“I... I um. No, actually...” Keith noticed how her tone shifted, a hint of sadness evident in it. “It’s all me. Hah.”

_‘She must’ve ran away or something. And as thanks, probably forced to do everything herself. But damn, if that ain't a lot of furniture for one person’, _Keith thought. Maybe..

“This is gonna sound weird but uh, how 'bout I help?” inquired Keith, truly wanting to be of assistance to his new neighbor.

“Oh no no no no no no. That would not be necessary. Plus, I would feel bad making you do labor on my behalf,” Allura added.

“It’s not labor if I’m volunteering.”

Allura bit her bottom lip, very thankful that he wants to help her in making her dump-hole of a place to make it look like an actual home.

“Thank you. I would really appreciate that, actually.”

“No problem. So what should I do-”

“No. Not today,” Allura interrupted. “Didn’t you mention that I disturbed your sleep?” she asked slyly. _Oh. Right. _“You go on ahead and get back to sleep. How does tomorrow sound?”

“Yeah. Tomorrow sounds good.”

“Alright then,” Allura said with a smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow then, Keith.” She stepped aside so she could bring the door to a close.

“Bye.” Keith stepped back and sighed. As he turned his heels to head for home, Allura opened her door once more.

“Oh and Keith? Once again, I’m sorry to have disturbed your sleep. I hope you have a good rest after today. And thank you for fixing my clock.”

“No problem.” Keith got back into his home. He stood against the door for a while, wondering what this warm feeling in the pits of his stomach are. He closed his eyes. _What the hell is this? _

** _Woof. _ **

Keith fluttered his eyes open and was interrupted by his canine pet, matter-of-factly angry at his master for not feeding him earlier. Keith looked at his clock. **8:15. **

“Sorry Buddy. C’mon. Let’s go eat.”

Now that his morning routine was brought two hours earlier for today, what was Keith going to do now? He was reminded of his neighbor’s words and how she indirectly wanted him to go back to sleep. He laughed to himself as he watched Kosmo eating vigorously. After meeting her...

_How could I possibly do that?_

* * *

**12:18pm. **

“Keith?”

The boy in question felt a nudge to his shoulders. He groaned, tiredly.

“Keith. Wake up.” It was probably a bad idea for Keith to have spent the whole of last night watching documentaries on television. Now he's got to suffer the consequences of people waking him up multiple times to test his pint-sized patience.

He groaned again. Not really looking forward to meeting the person who was currently waking him up.

“Alright. Guess you don’t want these hippo pancakes then,” said the man who stood by Keith’s bed as he watched Keith fall from his bed, eager to consume some pancakes. Hippo-shaped at that. Keith groaned in pain as he recovered from the mild fall, standing up to meet eye-to-eye with his friend (more so of a brother to Keith), Shiro.

Keith had always been indebted to Shiro. When Keith turned 14, Shiro took him in as a younger brother. Keith was significant to Shiro because even when Keith was young, he could see the emptiness and longing in his eyes. And a look that cynical could only mean that he went through a lot as a kid. Ever since, Shiro took care of Keith like he was his own little brother. Nurturing and caring him to be the man he is today. As Keith grew up, Shiro wanted Keith to treat him as a friend, and not as a brother. Solely because if anything were to happen to Shiro, he wouldn’t want Keith to go through the same pain and longing he did when he was young. So, the looser the ties; the better.

“What the Hell? I bet you don’t even have those cute hippo pancakes. Sleeze,” fought Keith.

“Well, that’s one way to say _‘Welcome back’_, after I get back from my honeymoon,” Shiro said, filled with sarcasm. Keith only responded by rolling his eyes. “I wanted to see how you were doing before I head out of town again with Adam. We’re looking for houses so that means I don’t need these anymore,” Shiro said as he dangled Keith’s apartment keys into his hands.

Shiro had his own apartment before but he liked to stay in Keith’s most of the time because... well... they’re friends. And friends free-load and stay in places except for their own. In fact, he would even crash at Keith’s place majority of the time.

“Keep it. I don’t need three spare keys. Plus, if anything happens to Kosmo while I’m away, you’re the only one that I can trust to make sure he’s okay.”

“We both know that you barely even leave this God-forsaken house. But, if you insist, I’ll keep this key then.” Shiro smiles. “Alright then. So. Anything happening today?”

“No.”

“Nothing?”

“No.”

“Nothing, at all?”

“No dammit. Why is that so hard to believe?”

“Keith. I love you but you seriously need to find something to do. Go out. Meet people. You can’t just sit at home, feeding Kosmo and wait for your life to happen.”

“What’s wrong with feeding Kosmo all the time?” Keith pouted.

“Nothing’s wrong. It’s just, maybe you can try feeding people,” Keith cocked his brow. “What I meant was; by taking them on dates and stuff. You’re a pretty decent-looking guy. I would know because I sorta raised you.”

“I don’t do dates. They’d probably run away after the first.”

“C’mon Keith. Would you give it a try? It isn’t all that bad. I promise. Just look at Adam and I. We dated for 5 years. And now we’re married,” ushered Shiro, happily talking about his new husband. “The least you could do for me is probably meet someone.”

Guess now’s his chance to tell Shiro what happened a couple of hours ago.

“Well I guess I’ve got you covered in that aspect.”

“What do you mean?”

“I met someone.”

Shiro’s eyes widen at that statement. An answer he wasn’t expecting in the least. It hasn’t even been that long ever since Keith broke up with Acxa. Acxa was history. And history doesn't repeat itself, especially in Keith's books. 

“Her name’s Allura. And she’s my neighbor.”

Shiro couldn’t believe it. Keith’s _actually_ meeting people.

“Well. Don’t just stop there,” Shiro ushered, wanting to hear more of the story.

“I don’t know her that well but all I know is that she moved out here from England.”

“You’re dating and that’s all you know about her?”

“What?!” A flustered Keith exclaimed. “What gave you the impression that we’re dating?!”

“Well you said you _‘met someone’_ so I didn’t know which type of **‘meet’** you were referring too. The _‘I found a new rebound after my ex’ _kind of met, or the _‘I literally just saw them and we talked for a bit’_ kind of met.”

“The latter. Plus, she’d never be a rebound. No. She shouldn’t ever be anyone’s rebound.”

“And why’s that?”

“She’s too beautiful to be anyone’s rebound,” Keith said as he averted his eyes elsewhere.

Huh. This was awfully interesting to Shiro. In his 7 years of looking after Keith, never has he seen Keith say such words about someone with such certainty and assurance. Someone he just met, at that. It was different with Acxa. In her case, she approached him and not the other way around. But, she managed to win him over with her words and admiration. Thus, how their relationship had started. One’s bliss could ever last so long. Things didn’t go so well and their relationship ended; a year and a half. Quite long for someone so lonesome, like Keith.

“Well, maybe I can meet her some day.”

“She arrived here two days ago I think, and yeah... I also kinda sorta offered to help her move in.”

“What?” '_How_' was the actual question Shiro wanted to ask but, he was just really stunned at Keith making moves faster than Shiro could've ever known.

“Well, it was early in the morning and I heard a bunch of hammering coming from her side and I was still sleeping obviously; I had to-“

“That’s great, Keith! Listen, at this point, me listening to how you managed to get your sleep ruined is redundant. You’re lucky the stars planned this situation out for you. Oh you lucky, lucky bastard.”

Keith looked at Shiro, puzzled. His astrological way of talking can be unnerving at times. But that’s what makes Shiro, Shiro.

Shiro looked at his wristwatch and started gathering his stuff before heading out.

“Well, I’ve gotta head out soon. Adam and I have places to be.”

“Of course,” Keith said with a smile. He was truly happy for Shiro and Adam. Keith always loved when Shiro visited him. It made him feel... not alone. Sure he had other friends around his age. A small circle. But Shiro knew how to make Keith feel important; not constantly teasing him like how his friends did. Maybe it was because he spent some of the seven years looking after Keith like a child of his own. Either way, he was lucky to have Shiro and he wouldn’t trade that experience for the world.

“I trust you can actually be decent to the girl. Just, please don’t do anything rash,” warned Shiro, fearing he would actually do something rash.

“Shiro. I wouldn’t dream of doing so.”

Shiro scoffed. “Knowing you. Hah. Impetuousness runs in your blood.”

“Goodbye Shiro,” Keith prompted as he opened the front door for Shiro to leave.

“See ya Buddy,” Shiro said, ruffling Keith’s hair.

**12:32pm. **

Keith looked at Kosmo. Kosmo looked back at his master, angling his face to signal confusion.

Since it was his second time being woken up for the day...

“What now?”

A bark back was his only response.


	2. Crossing Confinements

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg omg omg I'm so sorry about neglecting this fic for a while. I've been super busy with exams. Don't worry, it's all over. Actually, not really. I'm currently busy with college applications. So yeah heh. This isn't me justifying for my absence, but merely thanking you guys for being so patient with my inconsistent ass. I promise I'll do my best in updating this story. Also, just a little heads up; there could be shifting of chapters from time to time because my unpredictable ass doesn't know how to estimate where a section of a story ends. But the context will still be the same! The sole purpose for this is none other than to make the story more organized. Alright. That's it from me. Enjoy! :D

Monday. **10:29am.**

Another normal day in the calendars for Keith. Yep. Not an important day at all. Except...

Scratch that. Today _had_ to mean something, right? Why else would you find him pacing by his front door? Seconds away from 10:30. It’s definitely weird this time around; he’s pacing, rather vigorously too. Don’t know why he’s so nervous. It was just another ‘normal’ day after all.

**10:30.** Alright.

He didn’t actually tell her what time he’d be coming, ever since their first, not-so-great-and-rather-awkward encounter together, nor did she say what time was appropriate for him to come over. So, 10:30 it was. It wasn’t too late in the morning, and it sure as Hell wasn’t too early in the morning either.

Keith made sure Kosmo was well fed. An explanation to the dog that his master won’t be at home for majority of the day was also needed, much to his dog’s dismay.

Keith suddenly looked down. Suddenly remembering how he had met her in the most ridiculous way to ever meet someone for the first time: shirtless. It could have been a great sight to the other party, but for the one being shirtless, it was something Keith wanted to live down; considering the fact that she was by far, one of the most beautiful women he’s ever seen. And it wasn’t because Keith didn’t feel comfortable with being shirtless, in fact, he actually loved it. And he was proud of his body: toned just enough, and in the right places. 

It’s alright. Save the embarrassment-thinking for later. Because this time, he _did_ have a shirt on. A simple black tee. Now she wouldn’t have to worry about averting her eyes elsewhere, and he wouldn’t have to stand there awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck and other off-situation gestures. It’s okay. This time he was somewhat prepared, at least. Sort of.

.....

It was a normal gesture for a neighbor to offer some help, right? Yeah, definitely.

It was normal to have your heart racing to a sight of a beautiful person, right? For sure.

But what about if your heart races when you’re only thinking about them and not seeing them physically? Was that normal? Probably not.

And what Keith really doesn’t understand is as to why his heart has never raced this fast in his life before, when he’s met countless beauties, both men and women alike. He shrugged the idea and looked at his clock once more.

**10:31.**

_Probably should go now._

He opened his front door quite forcefully to be unexpectedly greeted by the sight of Allura. Outside his front door!

“Oh! You scared me!” Allura said, calming her increased heart rate with a palm on her chest.

“You mean, you scared me? You’re the one that’s in front of my door,” Keith corrected her, rather calmly. A subtle façade to conceal his increased heart rate as well. Not because of him getting scared. Being friends with Lance made him immune to the feeling of being scared in a shocking sense. Lance made stupid pranks almost every time of day when it came to Keith, but Keith ain’t about all that. It was the fact that he opened his door to Allura. The sole reason why he’s been questioning himself a lot more than he usually does these past 24 hours.

“I suppose that’s true. My apologies. I realized that I had not given you a specific time to come over, and I thought, well, 10:30 would be good. So I wanted to stop by and ring your door bell, but that was when you swung your door open.” He smiled.

“Funny. 10:30 was the time I thought was appropriate to come over as well.”

“What a coincidence then. I’m glad we had the same thought. So..” This time it was her turn to have her eyes trail off to the inside of his apartment. And the first thing she noticed... “Oh Goodness! Is that your dog? It’s humongous!”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah. Kosmo loves napping just as much as he loves attention.” At the sound of his name, Kosmo fluttered his eyes open and ran towards his master, putting his two front paws on Keith’s behind. “G’morning, Buddy. Allura, this is Kosmo. Kosmo, this is Allura, our new neighbor,” he introduced as he knelt down to ruffle his dog’s fur, and playing with his cute paws. 

Allura smiled. Admiring how Keith is so affectionate with his dog.

“Hello Kosmo,” she started as she knelt down as well, a loving smile plastered towards the dog. Allura loves animals. Cats and mice mostly. She’s not really a dog person, but if she saw a cute dog, her knees would immediately go weak. And Kosmo was just adorable. “I live just next door so hopefully we get to see each other often.”

“I hope so too.”

....

Ah fuck. He realized she directed that to Kosmo, but Keith _had_ to intervene. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. He blushed at his own sentence, averting her eyes.

At first Allura was shocked, but the shock quickly faded as she smiled fondly back at Keith.

“Well then. I’ll make sure to drop by if I ever need comforting from a canine friend,” she teased. Keith still had his eyes averted from hers. Now she was teasing him because of what he had said. Great. “Or... even from a friend.”

Keith took note of the sincerity behind her last comment as he angled his eyes towards hers. As blue as the bluest of oceans. So mesmerizing. So captivating. So beautiful. The way they were both knelt by his front door, looking in each other’s eyes sparked something in Keith’s heart. And ‘little’ Kosmo was the catalyst.

“Woof,” the dog finally barked. Putting all the effort he could to tear away the strong and apparent admiration Keith and Allura had for each other. More so on Keith’s behalf.

Keith faked a cough as he stood up. Allura noticed and straightened out her dress as she stood up too. Keith focused too much on Allura’s beauty, he didn’t even realize that she wore a cute sundress, with leggings. _She looks... wonderful._

“I think uh, I think Kosmo’s telling us to go now.” She chuckled at Keith’s obvious discomfort.

“So, shall we head over now then?” ‘No’ is what he wished he could say; because all he wanted to do right now was dwell deeper into those eyes and get to know her better. He _wants_ to know her better. Needs, he dares say.

“Actually,” Keith started. “How about a little grub first? Since I’m helping you move in, I might as well get you comfortable with our neighborhood too.”

The girl beamed at the idea. “Why, yes please. That would be lovely.”

“Well alright then,” sounding almost too Texan for his own liking, which earned a small chuckle from his neighbor. Cute.

* * *

They were both welcomed with the fresh scent of newly ground coffee beans entering their nasal cavity. A scent Allura loved, so very much. As for Keith, he didn’t love the scent, nor did he entirely hate it either - only comes here for their bagels, and their specially-shaped pancakes upon requests of their customers. In which Keith would always request for his pancakes to be hippopotamus-shaped.

As the two traveled further into the coffeeshop, a couple of eyes turned and gazed at them. The girls swooning at the sight of a handsome Keith; the boys and girls simultaneously, admiring Allura’s spectacular beauty.

“Hey! Keith!” Keith heard, as he tried to find the source of the voice. Pidge.

“Yo Keith! Over here!” He heard another. This time, it was Lance; the voice Keith gets annoyed with the most. He spotted the two by one of the coffeeshop’s window seats, overlooking the streets. A great seat, if he does says so himself.

“I guess now’s the time to introduce you to my friends huh. Just a little warning though, Lance can be a bit... over-the-top. I think he invented dumbassery.”

“I will heed your warning.” Allura laughed. “Besides, it’s only my fourth day here so, meeting new people would be a great start to my journey here in town.” Keith smiled at her comment. Wow. A mere opposite of what he was. He’d reject any sort of conversation. It was sort of his policy after all. She returned a smile towards him. Her smile was so fond and sincere, Keith couldn’t help but flinch at the sudden flutter in his heart. He turned away quickly to walk towards his friends. Allura, following closely behind.

“Hey guys.”

“Hi Keith.”

“Hey Buddy. What’s up?”

“Nothing much. Just getting brunch with a friend,” Keith answered, looking back at Allura and scooting a little to the side, making space for her to step forward. “Guys. This is Allura. She’s my neighbor.”

Lance and Pidge looked at her in awe. _‘She’s so pretty’_ the blue and green clad figures thought in unison. Suddenly, Lance stood from his seat.

“It’s nice to meet you Allura. Really, it is. Mind if I borrow Keith for a while?” Lance asked as he was already grabbing Keith’s arm, ready to drag him towards the back of the coffeeshop; where the bathrooms were. But before Keith and Allura could say anything, the two men were already on their way to the men’s.

“Um. Is everything alright?”

“Don’t worry about it. Lance is always like this. Hi. My name’s Pidge.”

* * *

“Hey! What the Hell do you think you’re doing?” Keith asked as he grunted, trying to break free from his friend’s sudden grasp-drag. Lance finally let go.

“Dude! You finally got yourself someone! Someone hot too! Congrats! And here I thought the only reason why you rejected my club invitations is because you swung the other way.”

“What kind of conclusion is that? Rejecting your invites does not mean anything **_Lance_**,” Keith said as he engrailed Lance’s name with vast annoyance, mixed with a dash of anger. A few dashes of anger, actually. “Plus, she’s nothing more than just a friend. She moved in a few days ago and she’s still in the midst of unpacking. She’s by herself, so the unpacking process might take longer than usual. So that’s why I offered to help.”

“Well damn. I was soooo off with my predictions this time around.”

_Pssh. Aren’t you always?_

”And would you look at that? Our little Keith is being a gentleman!”

“What sort of monster do you take me for?”

“Oh don’t be such a Drama Queen, we know all too well how you tend to be with strangers. Uninviting, and a dick. Or maybe because she’s a bomb-shell that you changed your ways?” Lance asked with a smirk.

“It’s a normal neighbor-to-neighbor gesture Lance,” Keith hissed.

“Not in your books, it’s not.”

Keith glared at Lance, not liking how right he was. His premonition was...

“Welllllll. That case aside, you won’t mind if I make a move on her, will ya?”

“Be my guest. But she’ll probably say ‘no’ to you anyways, so, if I were you, I wouldn’t even bother.”

“Woah woah. Could someone be a little worried that I might take a crack at her?” Lance smirked, arching a brow; knowing all too well of Keith’s tough-heart charade.

“Hah. In your dreams Buddy,” Keith scoffed as he dismissed Lance and made his way back to Allura and Pidge. To his surprise, the two girls were smiling and laughing away. It didn’t even seem that long ever since Lance had dragged Keith out for this stupid, stupid conversation. Or did they actually manage to hit it off in a short-ass time?

Lance, being the little shit he is, ran past by Keith to beat him towards the girls.

“Hey ladies. We’re back,” In a flirtatious manner, Lance can’t help but disappoint.

“Hi.”

“Welcome back. I was just telling Allura how dumb you could be, Lance.”

“What?! Pidge, why would you do that?!”

“Apparently she was told by Keith that the shenanigans we create, mainly comes from you.”

Lance glared back at Keith, but Keith just shrugged. Forever holding onto this grudge, Lance swore to do whatever he could so he could take Allura out on a date; at least once.

“It’s nice to meet you Lance,” Allura intervened, with innocence Lance has never seen.

“The pleasure’s all mine, Princess,” Lance counter-reacted as he took the hand she offered him for a handshake, and pecked it.

Pidge stared at the scene in disgust. Keith, with his arms crossed, too annoyed with Lance’s antics to even be surprised. As for Allura, she sat there, not knowing what to do at that moment. She glanced at Keith, who was behind Lance, and signaled a rather confused face. Keith took notice and gave her a half smile.

“_This_ is Lance,” Keith added and Allura laughed.

Her journey here might be a little interesting after all.

* * *

They stood out like a sore thumb in the coffee shop. Of course, they would; Lance was with them. And Pidge. It was already bad that Lance was there, but adding Pidge to the equation made it so much more chaotic. Lance and Pidge are close; to the point where teasing each other had become a norm. The duo, plus Hunk were a chaotic bunch.

When Keith looks at Lance and Pidge, he can’t help but wonder if all that teasing was to mask their unidentified feelings for one another. Either way, it was pretty obvious - at least, in Keith’s standpoint, that is.

“So. Allura. Tell us about yourself,” Lance started. “It’d be nice to get to know a pretty girl for once,” emphasizing on the last bit.

Lance has flirted with thousands of girls in his lifetime but never has he once been successful in getting himself a partner. If becoming Lance’s significant other was 'hitting the jackpot', then taking care of him was 'trying to figure out how to spend that money wisely'. All in all; a great person, just, hard to upkeep.

“What are you talking about? You know Pidge.”

Both, the blue and green clad figures sat up rigidly at Keith’s sudden comment. A bright red tint pooled on the apples of Pidge's cheeks, but goodness did she thank Keith mentally for the unnecessary comment.

Keith was sure Lance would say something in his defense to spite Pidge, but for some reason, all he heard as a response was a forced cough.

“I agree. You are well acquainted with Pidge, are you not?” Allura agreed.

“Yeah but Pidge is different!” Pidge is...” Pidge and Keith’s brows perked up at what Lance was going to say next. “Y’know what, never mind.” Still eager to know more about the white-haired beaut, he started again, “So, you moved here from England. What do you do? For a living, I mean.”

“A secretary. More so of a second-in-command. At Altean Incorporations.”

“Oooo. A bossy girl. I like that,” Lance commented, winking at Allura at the same time. Pidge rolled her eyes, but Keith wasn’t surprised at all that Lance would pull off a stunt like that. Allura, on the other hand, was too taken aback to even think about a comeback for Lance’s comment.

“Altean Incorporations? You mean, one of the largest companies in the world with high and complex tech?” inquired Pidge with peak interest.

“Yes actually. My father was the founder of-“

“Your dad’s the founder of Altean Incorporations?! What are you doing _here, _in Arizona?! Shouldn’t you be busy trying to improve the world with your mathematically elegant tech?”

“Easy there Pidge. Even second-in-commands of hot shot companies need a break from the world,” intervened Keith. “But yeah, Pidge is right, what _are_ you doing here - in _this_ part of the world exactly?”

“Well... where do I start?” Allura took a deep breath before continuing. “Things in the company wasn’t going so well. And before I knew it, I was handed the role of C.E.O. But…I couldn't take it. I refused it. The mere thought of managing my father’s company seemed impossible to me. It’s hard being the successor of a long-running, successful company. Especially... Especially after he...” Allura trailed off, not really wanting to dwell into this conversation deeper.

“After he, what?”

“Lance.” Keith's voice was deep and serious. It obviously was a topic she didn't want to discuss under any circumstances; so someone _had_ to stop Lance.

“Oh...”

Silence overtook their table. And what was known as the nosiest table in the coffee shop, turned into the quietest.

“I’m sorry for your loss. I’m sure he was a great man.”

Allura looked up at Keith’s comment and smiled back at him meekly.

“Thank you. And, he truly was. He taught me everything that I needed to know and more. I just wished he was still here now because, there’s still a lot that I want to learn.”

Pidge’s phone buzzed; cutting the conversation at the right time.

“Uh, sorry about that. You guys don’t mind if I take this right?”

“Of course not. Take your time,” Allura replied, a little relieved that the conversation about her father ended then and there. Hopefully it doesn’t make its way back - otherwise she might even break down. In front of her new friends even!

“Hey Hunk. What’s up?” They heard Pidge say as she stood up from her seat and excused herself for a quick second.

Lance was about to spark up another conversation until, not even twenty seconds into Pidge’s call, did he feel Pidge drag him out of the seat.

“Ow! Pidge! What the heck?!”

“Keith, Allura, I’m sorry but Lance and I gotta blast. Hunk finally succeeded in helping us getting his hands on Killer Fantasia IV. He said, and I quote: _‘Installed. Ready. Let’s play.’_ Lance and I have been dying to get a hold of it, much less play it. So yeah.”

“But we haven’t even had grub yet!”

“Oh come on Goofball, we can just ask Hunk to make us some.”

“Oh yeahhhhh. Alright let’s go!”

“See ya guys around. It was nice meeting you Allura. It really was,” said Pidge with the biggest smile.

“Yeah. I hope to see you soon, Princess,” Lance added as he took Allura’s hand and pecked it, before dashing off with Pidge.

With that, the two video game connoisseurs dashed out, leaving Keith and Allura alone at the table. It was rather awkward for a brief moment; thanks to Lance and his stupid, stupid and unnecessary commentary and stupid actions. Stupid.

“Really sorry about Lance. I was hoping we didn’t run into him sooner. He can be a real handful sometimes. All the time, actually.”

“Haha. It’s quite alright. Not that I’m used to it, but I appreciate the flattery sometimes.”

_Huh? Now **that** can’t be._

“Wait… you’re telling me you don’t get complimented often?”

“Yes, actually. Is that so wrong?” Allura asked bewilderingly, a small tint of annoyance evident in it.

“Yes, in fact.”

“And why’s that?”

_You’re a dead man, Keith. Just, shut the fuck up. Right now._

“Well, uh, that’s obviously because - because, you’re a very, very attracti- uh, pretty woman. And you sh-should be getting compliments any time of the day.”

Allura blushed. The traces of her annoyance were all gone, but now she was a blushing hot mess. Where the Hell did that come from? Like she said, she isn’t used to the flattery, so why was he making it worse by complementing her in the weirdest way there was?

“Oh. Um. Thank you. To be honest, I didn’t expect for this conversation to take a sharp turn.”

“That makes two.”

Their coffee and food arrived, cutting the weird atmosphere that was created. Keith had to telepathically thank the waiter for arriving at the greatest time. He even tipped the poor boy a $10 bill for saving his poor, helpless ass.

“So.. Keith. What do _you_ do for a living?” Allura asked as she cut through her plate of french toast.

Keith looked at her, rather surprised she wasn’t irked anymore.

“Why that look? I feel it is only fair that you tell me what _you_ do, this time” Allura retaliated with a smile.

_She’s right. _

“Well, I’m not actually employed at the moment.”

Hoping that would be a sufficient enough of an answer. Oh boy was he wrong. Allura continued to smile, clearly wanting to hear more than that half-assed answer.

“I’m usually at home. With Kosmo. And uh," _God dammit what do I say?_ "I actually spend most of my time drawing.”

“That sounds wonderful. Mind if I see them someday?”

“No. Sorry. It’s not really for viewing purposes.”

Keith noticed how Allura’s smile faded slowly. _Ouch_. He didn’t mean to come off as rude or unwelcoming, but his art truly was for no one’s eyes but him only.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to come off as-“

“No no. It’s quite alright. I respect your boundaries. If they’re not mine to see, then I won’t see it,” Allura said, plastering that smile of hers once again. And once again, his heart was left thumping, faster than ever at that beautiful sight; that is, Allura.

“Ahem. We should probably hurry. The crap-tonne of boxes in your home ain’t gonna move itself.”

The girl chuckled. What has she gotten them both into? Probably a few weeks supply of back-ache and muscle sore.

“Yeah, you’re right.”


End file.
